


Imelda's First Move

by Peevesie_Fics



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24909841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peevesie_Fics/pseuds/Peevesie_Fics
Summary: Imelda has decided to make a move, because it doesn't look like Héctor will. It does not quite go according to plan, but it's better than anything she could have hoped for.
Relationships: Héctor Rivera/Imelda Rivera
Comments: 14
Kudos: 32





	Imelda's First Move

**Author's Note:**

> Imelda and Héctor break gender roles in everything they do, so why not in the first move as well?  
> Fun fact: I discovered [this post ](https://www.google.com/amp/s/artistefish.tumblr.com/post/172438487314/i-cant-decide-which-scenario-i-like-better/amp) when I was halfway through writing this.  
> It's amazing and surprisingly similar to my fic, so I thought I'd share.  
> Update: I wrote a [ sort-of prequel](https://callonpeevesie.tumblr.com/post/631384472297881600/fantober-day-8-first-meeting-he-caught-her-eye) for this, check it out if you are interested.

Sometimes seemingly unimportant circumstances and decisions lead to the most important things of your life, and sometimes you have to take a moment to appreciate how everything had aligned to make it happen.

Like how Imelda had randomly decided to take a detour to Mariachi Plaza on an errand on a completely random day, and how Héctor had been playing there that very day. And how she had stopped to compliment him, and one thing had led to another. It was all a series of unrelated and unplanned events that could have easily turned out differently. But it had not, it had all happened the way it had, and now look where they were.

Well, technically speaking, they were not anywhere yet. And that was about to change - hopefully. She was going to do something about them so they actually got somewhere, because he wouldn't. She was going to do something that very day, and hopefully she wouldn't mess it up.

This was not how she had initially imagined this. She had been thinking about this for days. She was fairly certain her feelings were not one-sided and he was only not doing anything concrete because he had no idea how to, but that did not mean she was going to take a chance with this. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and their moment would have to be perfect.

She had fantasized about a memorable setting where she confessed her admiration for him, and her ideal setting was definitely not a crowded plaza. It was full of laughter and music, unlike the romantic quiet she had imagined. But she had decided only minutes ago that she would do something - she had no idea what - as soon as possible, so she did not explode from the intensity of everything that was going on. She had waited long enough, tried to plan it out but got nowhere, and this was as good a time as any to make her move.

It was partly Héctor and partly all the dancing, she supposed. Mostly Héctor. He made her feel incredibly carefree, she had noticed that effect he had on her many a time. When they were together, she felt like she could rule the world, or do other more dangerous things like disobey her mother and stay out late, without caring for the consequences. She felt more alive with him than she did anywhere else. This time was no different.

Of course, there was the dancing too. What seemed to be hours ago, she had snuck away to the plaza, after bribing her brothers to cover for her, and Héctor had asked her to a dance. There was a festive mood in the plaza for some reason; there were more people, and everyone was more energetic than usual. They were having a good time, singing and dancing, and she couldn't remember feeling this content, almost lightheaded in a long time.

He looked angelic in the moonlight. He was looking at her and grinning from ear to ear, not even paying attention to his hands that strummed his guitar with practiced ease. It was the sheer joy and energy that visibly coursed through him when he played that made him so irresistible. He was perfect because he did not try to be, he was perfect in all that endearingly awkward lankiness. Her insides soared everytime they looked at each other, and in a fit of dazed recklessness, she had decided to make a move that very evening, without worrying about anything. 

* * *

There were times when Héctor was overwhelmed by how amazing Imelda was and how lucky he was to know her. The first time he had felt like this had been a couple of months ago, on a normal day; she had looked at him and smiled, and it had felt like fireworks going off in his head. After that things had just escalated, to the point where he could never stop thinking about her.

This was one of those times. He could focus on nothing properly except staring at her and she was perfect, everything about her. She was fluid and graceful and perfect, never missing a step. She deserved to be loved by everyone in the world, but in a way Héctor was proud she thought him her only proper friend. She said so herself, and if she liked him enough to think that, it was all he could ever ask for, and more.

There was really nothing else he could wish for. This was perfect. There was the guitar, and the music, and Imelda dancing to it; he could do this forever. He could play for her, and not think about anything else forever.

He heard someone mention his name, and the bubble burst. Normally he wouldn't have heard or cared what anyone was saying, but whoever was talking about him sounded loud and obnoxious, almost as if he wanted him to hear. 'What does the Rivera girl think she's doing?' he was saying. 'Of all men -' 'She can't be serious,' said his companion dismissively.

This was not new. People saying things like that was something they were quite used to, in fact. Héctor knew perfectly well that he and Imelda were a topic of much speculation. The speculators almost certainly included suitors Imelda had rejected. No one understood how Héctor of all people had 'won over' Imelda - which he had not - which caused a lot of gossip, and in a few cases snide comments, which they had heard many times before.

Imelda had heard it too. He instinctively turned to her to share a look, but she was not rolling her eyes or looking exasperated like he had expected. She was standing still, looking straight at him with her jaws set and an unreadable, almost blank expression. Before he could ask her why she was looking at him like that, she had marched forward towards him, yanked his face down to hers by his shoulders and landed a very sloppy kiss on his lips. He was frozen in spot as she pulled away and looked at him. Her eyes widened with a mixture of triumph, surprise and something else, and before he even realised what was going on, she had disappeared.

After a few seconds, he noticed that everyone around them was frozen too. Even people who hadn't seen what had happened had gathered something and everyone within a radius of ten people had stopped doing whatever they were to stare at him. The moment he noticed the silence and the tension, it got unbearable, and after sparing a bewildered glance at everyone, he ran on instinct to the direction where he had seen the hem of Imelda's skirt disappear.

'Imelda!' he called after her, seeing her in the distance. '¡Esperame!' She stopped to look at him, laughed, and ran again. He ran after her into a lane, and caught up with her soon enough, mentally thanking god for his long legs. 'Wait!' he said, and grabbed her wrist. She turned to him. Her face was flushed, like he was sure his was, too. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

'What was that?' he managed to say, and added without meaning to, 'Did you mean it?' He have no idea why he said that. Maybe because he wouldn't put it past her to kiss him just to annoy people. He had always been fairly certain that his feelings for her were not one-sided, but he had never in his wildest dreams imagined that she could be this interested in him, or that she would make such a direct move. He still couldn't believe it.

'Mean what?' said Imelda, sounding slightly breathless.

'Did you mean to - to kiss me?' he said, wishing he was more confident and not such a mess of a human being.

'Of course I did, Héctor. How could I kiss you without meaning to?' that was extremely vague. Did she really mean -

'Really?' he was so flustered it was a wonder he was still coherent. '¿Por que?'

Imelda took a deep breath, crossed her arms and spoke. 'Well, I have been planning this for days.'

'You have been planning to - kiss me just like that?'

'Not kiss you, this - I have been planning to tell you ...' she fell silent.

'Tell me what?' he asked, his heart thumping.

'I - don't know. I hadn't planned that yet.' where was she even going with this? Taking a deep breath, she began to speak fast. 'Look, I just wanted to get somewhere about you, about us, and that's what I had been trying to plan. I needed to do something to let you know I ... It's just that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I didn't want to mess that up, but if I have anyway, I -'

His heart started to beat even faster, if that was possible, and he held up a hand to stop her. Had she just said - 'Wait, wait, wait. I'm the best thing that has ever happened to you?'

'Of course,' Imelda replied vigorously, looking up at him, her voice suddenly intense. Her face was glowing, and out of the blue, he imagined telling the world that Imelda Rivera could blush like that , and that he had seen her do it. It occurred to him that he was the one making her blush, and he was the best thing that had ever happened to her, apparently ... How was this happening? 'How could you not be?' she said, breaking his reverie. 'You're the only one who doesn't think I'm odd for being this way -'

'I love you for being this way,' he said immediately without thinking, and his ears went red when he realised what he had said.

'You do?' Imelda asked quietly, her eyes intense like stars.

There was no going back. If she could tell him how she felt then he could, do. It was not a big deal, he told himself, and swallowed before speaking. 'Sí, I do, I do.' he said earnestly.

Imelda made a sound that was midway between a gasp and a sob, and put one hand on his shoulder. They both stepped closer to each other, and he lowered the guitar to the ground beside them to pull her into a hug.

'I can't believe this,' Héctor whispered into her hair. 'How am I so lucky?'

'I'm the one who's lucky,' Imelda said into his chest, suddenly sounding close to tears. 'You have no idea -'

'Are you alright?' he asked, hugging her closer.

'Better than I've ever been. You don't realise, Héctor, you don't realise how wonderful you are -'

'I didn't know I was _that_ irresistible,' he replied with a shaky laugh.

'You still don't know how irresistible you are. You are amazing. I love you, Héctor.' she pulled away from him and looked up at him again. She was always beautiful, but she was surreal when her eyes shone with emotion like that. She tentatively stood on tiptoes and he leaned towards her to share the second kiss of the evening. This one was brief too, but still different - hesitant and gentle. She laughed nervously when they broke apart, and he laughed too.

'I wish we could stay here all night,' Imelda said with a sigh.

'You have to go home,' he reminded her.

'I don't want to,' she sighed again.

'How about a walk first?' he suggested, offering her his arm. He had so much to tell her, she deserved to know how much he loved her. A kiss was not enough to tell her how wonderful she was, and how grateful he was for her. But for now, he would be happy to just look at her, and hear her voice, and know that he meant so much to her.

She had held his hand before, and it had made his skin tingle, but this time it made him feel curiously warm, unlike ever before.

* * *

Imelda smiled to herself as she walked up the garden path to her house. Why had she been so determined about making this perfect? It had been perfect just as it was.

She turned back once. Héctor was outside the gate, waiting for her to reach the house. He smiled and waved when she looked at him. She smiled to herself again. The evening had been weird, but charmingly so, and effortlessly perfect, just like he was.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed my take on this adorkable couple. Let me know what you think.  
> Now with [art](https://callonpeevesie.tumblr.com/post/631565546700292096/fantober-day-10-first-kiss-perfect-excuse-to-draw)!


End file.
